Bond makes Senate farewell speech

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri's senior senator, Christopher "Kit" Bond, took another step toward retirement Tuesday, winding down a public service career spanning six decades with a farewell speech from the U.S. Senate floor.

"Work together; play nice," Bond said, emphasizing pragmatism in politics.

"In a world today where enemies are real, the kind who seek to destroy others because of their religion, it is important to remember there is a lot of real estate between a political opponent and a true enemy," Bond said.

"He was never an ideologue, I never even heard an opponent throw that at him," said Missouri Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder. "He was a man of considered judgment, a man of sound, common sense, Missouri mainstream judgment."

Bond lost the first race he ran, for a congressional seat in northeast Missouri in 1968. In 1969, he was named an assistant state attorney general by future Sen. John Danforth. But by 1970, he was running another campaign, this time successfully, for state auditor. Two years later, at the age of 33, Bond became the youngest governor in Missouri history.

A rising star in the Republican party, he was mentioned as a possible running mate on the Republican ticket with Gerald Ford in 1976. Bond then lost the governor's race to Kansas City attorney Joe Teasdale in the fall of 1976. Four years later, Bond made a comeback and defeated Teasdale to become the only Missouri governor in history to have two non-consecutive terms.

Bond was elected to the Senate in 1986, replacing Thomas Eagleton. And though he never rose to a position of leadership or particular notoriety, he became an effective voice for Missouri in Washington.

"Most people outside of Missouri wouldn't have known who Kit Bond was," said Missouri State University political science professor George Connor. "He was low profile, but that's a style thing ... the Senate is a proving ground for future presidents and he wasn't one that necessarily had those aspirations.

"He was a worker bee."

And a bee that brought the honey home from Washington D.C. Known for using the system of earmarking appropriations within budget bills, Bond secured federal funds that paid for highway improvements and building projects all across the state of Missouri, particularly on university campuses.

"He always sought federal funds to alleviate the burden of Missouri taxpayers," Connor said. "Some will say that's robbing Peter to pay Paul, or that drives up the deficit, but I think Sen. Bond is from an era before those concerns, and the hallmark of his term is that he always put Missouri first."

"His enduring legacy is how he set the bar so high for delivering for the state of Missouri," Kinder observed.

The state's junior senator, Democrat Claire McCaskill, said she disagreed with Bond's use of earmarks, and other issues, but said they always worked together to help Missouri.

"Kit and I are certainly friends, and have certainly worked together on many things on behalf of Missouri," McCaskill said. "I certainly admire his many decades of service as an elected official of our state."

Now with Bond moving on, Kinder said it's going to be imperative for the state's congressional delegation to continue to work hard to keep bringing the state's federal tax dollars home.

"We need not so much a show horse for a senator, but, like Kit, a workhorse of a senator who is committed to delivering for Missouri just like he did."